Sayonara trip
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Before leaving Japan early this year, I planned a trip to some of the places I’ve always wanted to go but haven’t had a chance to visit & also to revisit some of my favorite places again. I call it my sayonara trip :p sayonara means good bye in japanese.
I’ve been wanting to blog about this trip for a long long time but I haven’t had time to sit down to sort out the photos. I know I need to get it down asap else I’ll forget all the details of the journey. I have a bad memory…
Anyway, here’s a summary of the trip…
So, the journey started from Tokyo to Yamaguchi. A friend of mine who is living in Yamaguchi was kind enough to take me in after I move out of my Tokyo apartment. I made her house a base and traveled to the places nearby.
From Yamaguchi, I traveled to Shimane prefecture (島根県）and Tottori prefecture (鳥取県). Visited Izumo Taisha (出雲大社), Adachi museum of art(足立美術館), the Mizuki Shiegeru Road to see the yokai characters created by him (ゲゲゲの鬼太郎) & Iwami ginzan(石見銀山), a world heritage site.
Izumo Taisha, Japan
From Iwami ginzan(石見銀山), I returned to Yamaguchi again. Then my friend joined me to Nagasaki (長崎). Nagasaki was one of the places I’ve always wanted to visit. I stayed there for 4 nights.
Nagasaki peace park, Japan
After Nagasaki, I traveled to Mt. Aso（阿蘇山）, went up to see the volcano and stayed one night there.
Mount Aso - largest active volcano in Japan
From Mt. Aso, I moved to Beppu (別府), one of Japan’s most famous hot spring resorts. I stayed 2 nights in Beppu.
When I was in Beppu, I also visited Yufuin (湯布院)
From Beppu, I traveled back to Yamaguchi again to bid farewell to my friend. Then I departed to Hiroshima （広島）.I’ve been to Hiroshima and this is my 2nd time there coz’ I really wanted to see the Torii at Itsukushima Shrine again before I leave Japan.
Itsukushima Shrine's big Torii, Hiroshima
After staying in Hiroshima for one night, I went to Onomichi (尾道) & Tomonoura(鞆の浦) before resting a night in Okayama（岡山）
From Okayama, I took the train to Uno (宇野) to catch the ferry to Naoshima (直島). Spend 1 night in Naoshima.
Kusama Yayoi red pumpkin in Naoshima
Then from Naoshima, I took the ferry to Takamatsu（高松）. Walked around Takamatsu town a bit before boarding another ferry to San-no-miya(三ノ宮). My original plan was to spend one night in Kobe after I reach San-no-miya, but had to skip it because I was running out of time. So after the Ferry reached San-no-miya(三ノ宮), I took the train straight to Kyoto.
Maiko in a tea ceremony, Kyoto
I have been to Kyoto a lot of times. I love this place so much that I just had to go back again. Spend 3 nites in Kyoto. Also traveled to Uji (宇治) from there.
From Kyoto, I went to Nara and stayed there for 1 night.
The last stop of my sayonara trip is the famous Ise Jingu（伊勢神宮）It was an unforgettable day coz’ I walked in the rain for more than 1 hour just bcoz I wanted to save money & didn’t want to pay for the bus ride :p oh. Silly me.I got all wet although I had an umbrella with me.
Such a colorful man hole
After Ise, it’s time to go back to Tokyo..I took the train from Ise to Nagoya (名古屋), ate the famous Hitsumabushi (ひつまぶし), then took the night bus back to Tokyo.
Phew…that was such a long post. And I thought it’s supposed to be a summary. Lol..
I will post more photos when I get them sort out…
There are still a lot of places I wanted to see in Japan but I guess I’ll have to go back again…but not so soon..
*All photo taken with my CANON EOS300 film camera with various film.
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Ah, Naoshima is so on my hit list! But for now, the Yayoi Kusama show at the Pompidou centre in Paris is as close as I’m going to get… And you’re right, Japan does have some lovely manholes! Sounds like an awesome trip. :-)
Hi Rachael, Nice to meet you :) So have you check out Kusama Yayoi’s show in Paris? How was it?
Great shots! I can’t wait to see more. :o And that giant pumpkin is so cute! :O
Thank you :) That’s Kusama Yayoi famous pumpkin :p
super love the colorful man hole.
love their creativity & individuality!
yes. Japan’s man hole are have very nice design yah.
They are all great pictures. Hey, how did you like Onomichi? I’ve been meaning to visit Hiroshima (The Dome, Onomichi, Itsukushima jinja) as well as Naoshima like forever.
Hi Ai. I love Itsukushima jinja but I was only in Onomichi for a few hours, I don’t think I see enough to judge the place but I think it’s a nice little town with lots of temple. Also, a lof of movies were filmed here!? Naoshima is great! You should really plan a trip there.
these are so great! i love seeing your views of Japan!
hi Kitchu. Thank you so much for your kind comment :)